Device for stopping runaway horses.



T. O. PRESTON.

DEVICE FOR STOPPING RUNAWAY HORSES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 27. 1915.

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T. 0. PRESTON.

DEVICE FOR STOPPING RUNAWAY HORSES.

'APPLlCATlON FILED MAR. 27. I915.

Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

THOMHS O-PFZESTQN THOMAS o. PRESTON, or srnnivronwvrnerivrn.

nnvron non STOPPING nimAwAY nonsns,

Specification of Letters Patent. I

Application filed March 27, 1915." Serial No. 17,455.

lowing is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to vehicles,andparticularly to meansadaptedto be-mounted on and used in connection with a vehicle;

whereby the draft animals of the vehicle may be stopped if running away. I g

It has heretofore been proposed to providcmeans for releasing a runaway horse or horses from a vehicle, but while this method conserves the safety of the occupants of the vehicle it permits the frightened animal to continue on its way, withachance of overturning and 'inj uring pedestrians and doing a great dealof damage.

The primary object of my invention is the provision of means whereby, instead of releasingthe animal, the vehicle and the'anrmal' are relatively drawn toward each other to impede the progressof the animal and; eventually stop it, or throw it, ifnecessa-ry.

A further object of my inventio'nis to provide means whereby the power of 'thefsupporting wheels of the vehicle may be used to relatively draw the horse and thevelricle' toward each other in case ofa runaway;

Still another object of; my invention" is to provide a construction wherein, halting traces are.provided which extend from s1i1table winding drums or pulleys mounted in conjunction with the 'frontiaxleofthe ve'- hicle, andto provide means wherebythese winding drumsorpulleys may be manually shifted into operative 'engagement with; the front vehiclewheels so as to cause'the power from these wheels to turn thedrums, thus winding up on the'halting races so'asto check it or throw the animal."

A further object of) myinvention is: to provide'a mechanism of this character which is equally applicable" to use with eithera single or double rig,;andwhich is further adapted to be used with anystyle ofve hicle and readily applied thereto without or drums 12'." The outer endsofthese drums are. so formed that they will have rotative any buta very"slight change.

Other objects will appeal in the course of the-following'descriptlon.

Myinvention is illustrated inthe'accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the forward portion ofa wagon showing my stopping de-, viceapplied thereto; Fig. 2 is a side eleVa'-' tion, partly'in section, of the forward portion of the'wagon; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the m'section'one' of the perspective detailed view of the, means for actuatingtheblock 16; Figq5 is :a perspect1VBdel3a1ledV1eWOf a-portion of the front axle and ablock 16; F ig, 6is anunderside of the supportingfframe and fifth plan view wheel. p

Referringlto these; figures, it will be seen that my. device includes a transversely extendinga leQ, andthe parallel yoke-engagingbar 3, whichis connected to the axle 2 by means of rearwardly Panama. is, 1915.

forward axle, showing w nding drums mounted, thereon andlts actuating collar; Fig, 4 is" a p I extending'braces d." Preferablythe axle'2, braces"4:,' and bar 8 are madeuntegr'ahthough this is not'necessarily tlie'case. The'ends of the bar 3 are adaptedfor engagement withthe yoke of a i tongue or-pole as in Fig. 1. In case a single draft animal isyhitched thill couplings of the shaft may, beattached to the ends of'the'bar.

tofthe vehicle, the

of course,

In the form ofmy invention illustrated in 7 the accompanying drawings, the ends of the bar 3arereducedto engagewith couplings 5 which are in turniengaged with a yoke 6,

'to-which apole 7 isconnectedinany usual or ordinary manner; Theusual Whittle-tree or double tree is adapted to be connectedto 'thepole and yoke in the usual "or ordinary manner, and the draft animals are connected to the whilile-trees by meanstof the usual traces 8. 1

As shownmo t clearly in Fig. 2,the axis 2, at the middle ofits lengthyis'disposed in approximately the same planeas the bar 3,

but-on each side of the braces lthe axle 2 1s front wheels revolving upon the axle.

downwardly depressed as at 9, and then ex tends laterally outward and is reduced to form the skeins 10,to which the front wheels I 11 are attached in the usual manner, the

Mounted upon the depressed ends 9 of the aXlefiare the rotatable and'slidable pulleys when these drums are forced laterally outward, and this engagement may be securedeither by frictional contact between" the drums and the hubs of the supporting wheels or by having the contacting .facesof the drums and wheels formed respectively with teeth and recesses. A spring 12 urges the drum out of engagement with the wheel, the spring bearing against a washer on the axle.

Wound upon these drums or pulleys 12 are the forwardly extending halting traces 1 3. These traces extend forward'and are operaj tivelv' connected. in any suitable manner'to the draft animal or animals. "As illustrated,

the traces 13, which may be formed each of a leather strap or of a length of chain anda length of leather strap, or in any other suitable manner, pass over pulleys 14 attached to the neck strap of the harness and then extend rearward in a connecting breeching, as

by means of a link 21. .When the shaft 18 I is turned to the position shown in Fig. 1, the sliding blocks andalso the pulleys 16 are" shifted inward away from the hubs of the wheels. When, however, it is desired to force the pulleys or drums into rotative engagement with the wheels, the shaft 18 isro- .tated to throw the sliding blocks outward,

thereby. forcing the pulleysor drums into engagement with the wheels. s

Preferably the upper faceof. the axle is formed with a fifth wheel, designated 22, upon which the forward bolsterof the vehicle is adapted to rest and rotate in the usual manner, and preferably this fifth Wheel is extended forward, as at 23, and extends over the bar 3. The fifth wheel and its extension 23 may be formed integral with the aXle and bar 3, and preferably are so formed. This extension 23 is formed with a central opening 24: through which the shaft 18 passes and by which it is supported,

the oppositely disposed cranks 20 being dis posed beneath the under face of this extension, as illustrated clearly in Fig.2. The operation of my invention will be obvious fromthe above description. Under. normal circumstances, the halting traces are relatively loose and power is applied to the vehicle through the ordinary traces. Now if the draft animals run awayand there is danger of an accident, the operator has only to rotate the shaft 18. This will act to throw the links laterally," shifting the sliding blocks 16 laterally and carrying the pulleys or drums into engagement with the hubs of the vehicle wheels. Inasmuch as these halting traces extend below the drums, it is obvious that a rotation of the front wheels' in the direction in which the vehicle is goingwillact to wind the halting traces up upon the drums or pulleys. This will cause the horses to be drawn rearward in the sense at least that the halting traces'will be so tightened by this action 'as to seriously in pecle the free movement of the draft animal and cause its stoppage.

At the same time the force required to wind up the halting traces will act to impede the rotation of the front. wheels, and these wheels will skidgto some degree, thus acting as .a brake. Under these circumstances thehorse is very easily checked, and if the rearward pull uponthe 'horse is severe enough the horse orhorseswill be thrown. r 7

It will also be obvious that this'invention may be applied to a one-horse hitch as well as to a two-horse hitch, the only difierence being that with a one-horse hitch there will be two halting traces, one disposedateach' s1de of the horse, whereas where two horses are used, as in the drawings, there will be I one halting trace for-each horse. ,The

action, however, will be the same in either case.

While I have illustrated certain detailed features of my invention which I believe to be of particular efficiency,'I do not wish to belimited to this construction as it is obvious that many changes may be made in the detailed construction without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: 1

1. The combination with a vehicle" eluding an axle having its terminal portions extended downwardly and at right angles to the body portion and then outwardly at rightiangles to the downwardly extended table drums slidably mounted upon the outwardly extended portions, and movableinto rotative engagement with the supporting portion,' suppor.ting wheels mounted upon the outwardly extended 7 portions, rotawheels, springs normally urging said drums out of engagement with thewheels, sliding members mounted upon the outwardly ex-.v f

tending portions of the axle, "and manually drums into engagementwith the wheel, said sliding members being limited in their 1011- gitudinal movement, upon the axle by en-' gagement with the I downwardly extended portions thereof. I o 7 2. The combination witha vehicle includ operable means for shifting said sliding members laterally to carry the winding j ing a bolster, of an axle, supporting Wheels thereon, a fifth wheel formed integral with the axle and upon which the bolster is supported, said fifth wheel having a forward extension, a draft bar extending parallel to the axle and formed integral with said'forward extension of the fifth wheel and being connected to the axle at a plurality of points, the extremities of said draft bar being adapted to be engaged by draft devices, halting traces, winding drums slidably mounted on the axle and with which said halting traces are engaged, said winding drums being movable into rotative engagement with the supporting Wheels, springs urging the 15 drums into rotative engagement with the 20 Wheels.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS O. PRESTON.

Witnesses Mrs. STUART SCOTT, MARY M. BRANNER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

